Having trouble with windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Apparently people who have recently visited windowsupdate.microsoft.com are being told that their system is completely up-to-date, even when they know it isn't or hasn't been updated for months.

On the NZNOG mailing list, Nathan Mercer gives this advice

If you are having problems with WU can I suggest you try this URL https://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

As near as I can tell this problem is related to aggressive caching of DNS and/or Microsoft's recent switch to Akamai. I'm not sure how common it is and I expect it will sort itself out within a week or two.

Blank Explorer windows on dual CPU servers

Got a Windows 2000 Server that displays blank Explorer windows until you refresh or right click inside them? Recently updated to 2 CPUs (and installed the Multiprocessor HAL)?

You need Patch KB:328310 (MS02-071), even if you've installed it already.

Can't authenticate users in a trusted domain for RRAS/VPN

See this thread, to which the ultimate outcome seemed to be that you have to add the other DC to the group "Pre-Windows 2000 Compatible Users" on the DC

net localgroup "Pre-Windows 2000 Compatible Access" everyone /add

See KB:240855.

Windows 2000 Tab Completion

Everyone loves TabCompletion. Enabled in the command processor in Windows XP, it was introduced in Windows 2000 but not implemented.

• Run Regedit (Start, Run, Regedit)
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\
• Double click !CompletionChar? and change whatever is there with '9' (ASCII value for Tab). Click OK.

You'll have to restart any cmd.exe's you might have open to have them notice the change.